Showing posts with label Crime and Courts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Crime and Courts. Show all posts

Friday, September 22, 2017

Don’t Let Local Anti-Drone Laws Keep you from Flying!

This sign in most cases is a paper tiger
Newton, MA—The City Council of this city enacted a highly restrictive ordinance over both commercial and recreational drones.  The most draconion parts of that law was just declared invalid by a federal judge.  

Among other things the council like many state and local governments recklessly went about regulating or restricting most drone activities such as:  
1.  Registration requirement for all drones with the city.
2.  Obtain “permission” from public or private property owners before any flights..
3.  Outlaws beyond line of sight flying.  

State and local politicians are either oblivious or antagonistic to the reality that they have zero jurisdiction over the airspace.  This is the mandated responsibility of the FAA.  They pass laws that result in arrests, search warrants and confiscation of property because of their arrogance and or ignorance. 

Article Six of our Constitution makes it quite clear that in case of a conflict between state and federal law, federal is always supreme.  Congress created the FAA and gave it  exclusive jurisdiction of the airspace.  

People victimized by these tyrannical laws have two ways to attack this monster:

  1. If arrested they can furiously litigate the bad law in court.
  2. By simply suing the offending government agencies seeking to enjoin their over-reaching laws.      
Of course if arrested, the local courts and prosecutor’s will offer you sweetheart deals in exchange for guilty pleas.  Unlike City Councilmen they have a better understanding of these bad laws.   I consider plea bargains in these cases as a nasty form of extortion.  

It will cost you a lot more money to litigate to win.  Rolling over and accepting a permanent criminal record is always the wrong answer here!

There are now two Federal Court cases affecting drone operators:  
  1. Taylor vs. FAA.  This precluded the FAA from requiring registration of drone used for recreation. This new requirement was in serious conflict with existing Federal law.
  2. Singer vs. City of Newton.  This case struck down the most egregious portions of the ordinance.  The plaintiff only challenged those portions of the law that affected him.

The Singer case does not really apply as a mandate nation wide however the case can be cited to various courts dealing with the same issues. The arguments made by Singer and the Court’s decision are very compelling.  

My guess is many local judges will bow not to the law but to the politicians that appointed them.  You could stand to be fined, jailed or placed on probation. 

Unfortunately what’s been left out of this argument is our Constitutional right to photograph and publish under the First Amendment. The media organizations should have challenged the bogus laws long ago.   

We also must deal with ignorant drone industry trolls that want to regulate recreational drone operators into non-existence.  The only acceptable motivation for regulation is safety.  The facts are despite millions of them out there no drone has crashed into conventional aircraft, been involved in death or serious injury.  Additionally no drone has been involved in any significants property damage.  

Many more windows are broken by softball players and golfers than drones!.  

This anti-drone hysteria continues.  It must be fought through education, litigation and safe flying.  Stand up for your rights while you still can!

Here is a copy of the Singer Ruling:
https://www.scribd.com/document/359718558/Singer-vs-City-of-Newton-Drone-Ruling


Tuesday, August 19, 2014

The City of Phoenix is Making War on Camera Drone Pilots!


Will they be able to jail drone pilot Paul Huebl now?  
Phoenix, AZ—Two members of the City Council here are proposing an anti-drone ordinance that will make a criminal out of anyone using a drone within the city.

Let me disclose that I own and operate two camera drones like the one above and plan to use them in pursuit if gathering images and video for news. 
The proposed law requires that “written permission” be obtained in advance from anyone that might be photographed by a drone.  That would for example include some gardener mowing grass who might be photographed whether he is readily identifiable or not.  They are not talking about just close up pictures but any picture.
There is plenty of existing law that protects people’s privacy where people have a reasonable expectation of privacy.  That is inside a home or structure of some type.  That’s why millions of ordinary surveillance cameras are everywhere in America today. 
Singer and entertainer Barbara Streisand sued a photographer that dared to publish a photograph of her Malibu, CA beachfront home he shot from a helicopter for $10 million.  Needless to say despite the best lawyers her case failed and the photographer actually collected from her instead. 

Then there is the U.S. Supreme Court case, Florida v. Riley, 488 U.S. 445 (1989).  
Meaningless exemptions are made in the proposed law for artists and news people but that opens a Pandora’s Box to define what that might mean. 
Many would say I should not qualify for media exemption as a blogger!  Who or what is an artist? What if some cop decides your “art work” sucks and can get a jury to agree that you’re no artist? Sheriff Joe’s Tent City awaits your confinement!
In fairness to the two councilmen behind this mess somehow were under the mistaken impression that existing privacy laws did not cover aerial photography. 
They also need to recognize that any other criminal mischief involving a drone is already covered.  An aide gave me an example where she suggested that a drone could be used as a look out or to case property to be burglarized.  She was dead wrong.
In every state a drone put to such use would be considered a burglary tool bringing forth an additional felony charge in addition to the original burglary complaint.
There are also stalking laws that prevent criminals from using any means to victimize people.  The use of a drone by a stalker would surly bring maximum punishment in any court.
Obviously those doing the same thing with Google Earth, helicopters or fixed wing aircraft can take all the pictures of people they want in Phoenix.  After all these days we love double standard justice in America! 
The draft ordinance is subject to debate and public comment.  I suspect that anything that actually passes may be a lot different than the current proposal. 
Perhaps an E-Mail or phone call to the Mayor or members of the Phoenix City Council might get their needed attention https://www.phoenix.gov/mayorcouncil
Below is the proposed ordinance:
DRAFT Unmanned Aircraft Regulations
Definitions

1.  Unmanned Aircraft System (“UAS”) means an unmanned aircraft vehicle, drone, remotely piloted vehicles, or remotely piloted aircraft that does not carry a human operator.
Offenses:
1.  A person commits an offense if the person uses an unmanned aircraft to photograph, film, audiotape, or otherwise record an individual or individuals acting on private property without the expressed, written consent of the property owner and the individuals included in the recording.
a.  An offense under this section is a Class 1 misdemeanor
b.  It is a defense to prosecution under this section that the person destroyed all photographs, films, audiotapes, and other records:
                                            i.     As soon as the person had knowledge that the image was captured in violation of this section;
                                         ii.     Without disclosing, displaying, or distributing the image to a third party;
                                      iii.     The recordings did not include
1.  Children; or
2.  Sexual acts or nudity.
2.  A person commits an offense if the person makes a recording in violation of Section 1 and discloses, displays, distributes, sells, or otherwise uses that image
a.  An offense under this section is a Class 1 misdemeanor
b.  Each image a person discloses, displays, distributes, or sells under this section is a separate offense
3.  A person commits an offense if he outfits an unmanned aircraft system with a weapon and flies that unmanned aircraft over the private property of another individual or entity without expressed, written permission
a.  An offense under this section is a Class 1 misdemeanor
Nonapplicability
1. It is lawful to use an unmanned aircraft within the City of Phoenix to photograph, film, audiotape, or otherwise record an individual or individuals acting on private property
a. if the recording is captured for the purpose of mapping;
b. if the recording is captured by the City or Phoenix or an individual or entity under contract with the City of Phoenix for the purposes of resource management;
c. if the recording is made for the operation and maintenance of utilities or telecommunication facilities for the purpose of maintaining the reliability and integrity of the utility or telecommunication system or to determine if repairs to the system are necessary;
d. if law enforcement is using the unmanned aircraft system to execute a valid search warrant;
e. if law enforcement is acting under circumstances in which an exception to the warrant requirement is applicable;
f. if law enforcement is using the unmanned aircraft system to document a crime scene where a felony offense has been committed; or
g. if law enforcement is conducting a search for a missing or abducted person.
h. if the recording is made over several private residences for an artistic or journalistic purpose and no individuals captured on the recording are personally identifiable

Will I have to challenge this here?

Wednesday, July 09, 2014

New Turf War Escalating, Camera Drone Pilots vs. Traditional Helicopter Pilots!



Los Angeles, CA—Technology has brought us unmanned, remote controlled aircraft.  These things have been around for decades. Expectedly they have been engineered for surveillance and combat by military contractors.
More recently GPS advances and really great and diminutive cameras such as the GoPro has brought us an affordable civilian drone that has been thrilling photographers such as me.
The vast majority of the civilian camera drones are weighing in at between one and three pounds and can be safely operated from as much as a mile away.  They can capture stunning images at much lower altitudes than helicopters without the risk of death and destruction. 
There are larger and more sophisticated drones that handle the bigger cameras used by the film industry and require very solid piloting skills.  
One thing for sure civilian drone operators don’t want their devices endangered or the subject of adverse police scrutiny. 
I have two camera drones my least expensive is worth $1,000.00 and my better one cost me $2000.00.  Needless to say I’d be very unhappy if it were destroyed or confiscated by authorities. 
The Turf War has begun!
Police and TV news helicopter pilot’s careers are suddenly in serious jeopardy because of the drone technology.  They are antagonistic and understandably hostile to this drone technology. 
Every year in America several helicopters crash, lives are lost along with millions in property damage.  The reason is most often pilot error.   The civilian multi-rotor camera drones have never been involved in a single death or remarkable injury.  
The civilian drones can operate in much tighter spaces making them more versatile in search and rescue operations at least in regards to finding people, pets and property.  Of course the little drones cannot evacuate people for medical trauma or from precarious mountainsides. 
The civilian drones cannot cope with police car chases like helicopters but can provide excellent images of crime, accident, fire and other disaster scenes for TV news. 
The L.A. Department of Water and Power is demanding two new helicopters to inspect their assets, equipment and property.  Let me be the first one to say that they can now get by with only one!  They simply need a qualified camera drone operator that would cost a tiny percentage of the price of a second helicopter.  It may be possible to jettison the second helicopter with a small fleet of drones! 
TV news operations can save millions and avoid the risk of deadly crashes altogether! 
The drones will have causalities for sure.  They are the helicopter crews and the maintenance support staff will be looking for work.
As for the future of manned helicopters that is in doubt two because technology may create the accident proof drone helicopter.  This may not be far away.
One last thing, today’s big drone story in New York is the arrest of to camera drone pilots for criminal endangerment.   
I call bullshit on the helicopter cop’s claims that the drones were aggressively chasing them.  I guess the cops overlooked that the two drones have the ultimate back boxes onboard!  They have the SD Ram cards with a full visual record of the flights involved. 
The police should have their own unedited video and examination of the three combined videos should reveal the unvarnished truth. 
In any event I hope that civilian drone photographers are not subjected to violation of their civil rights under color of law in order to score points in a turf war. 
The biggest motivating factor for safe and law abiding operation of the new civilian camera drones is the value of the devices and cameras.  Existing law covers any issues of dangerous or criminal mischief. 
Civilian drones have their new place in the sky cut out for them.  The benefits far outweigh any potential liabilities. 
The issue of licensing for drone pilots is under review and discussion and my sources are telling me that drones weighing more than 55 pounds will be targeted for regulation.  The multi-rotor pilots like me with small devices will be free from special attention from the FAA.
State and local legislative bodies will be looking to create all manner of bans and new laws.  Let’s hope they all think about the safety and benefits before they act. 
I expect to see thousands of new jobs for small drone photographers in news, movie making, farming, real estate, insurance adjusting and many other industries.


Sunday, April 01, 2012

Are You Ready for a Dangerous Summer in Chicago? This Will Protect You!

Chicago, IL—As the summer approaches predators can be counted upon to roam the streets looking for victims. You must constantly be aware of your surroundings and prepared for the eventuality of an attack.

The Chicago Police Department can barely answer their telephones, and respond to those calls at an ever, slower rate. The department in exceptionally undermanned outgunned and demoralized. The Illinois Department of Corrections has been releasing criminals at a record rate due to funding issues.

The U.S. Supreme Court has made it clear in McDonald vs. City of Chicago the keeping and bearing of arms is a right of the law abiding. The politicians here have chosen to disarm citizens with laws that are both un-Constitutional and immoral.

Forcing citizens to fend for themselves and to remain unarmed in a violent and dangerous city is both bad public policy and incredibly unreasonable.

Be sure to have a safe and reliable handgun and the training to use it while outside of your homes. The gun won’t make you taller, stronger, braver or smarter but it will give you an even chance to survive when the unthinkable happens. Also obtain a Firearm Owner’s Identification Card.

Should you have to shoot an attacker, get away from the scene in a hurry for your safety and do not discuss what happened with anyone but a lawyer. No law requires you to call 911 or stay at the scene. The laws surrounding traffic accidents do not apply in shooting cases.

Law abiding citizens are not out creating disturbances or otherwise attracting police attention so being frisked by some cop just doesn’t happen. Carry your gun discreetly and only you and your attackers will know your secret.

Always remember to never waive your rights to a physical search or answering questions by police. They understand when you assert or invoke your rights.

No decent Chicago cop will want to arrest you if you’re discovered with a gun unless you have a criminal record or are engaged in misbehavior. The fact that you have a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification Card establishes that you are not a convicted criminal.

Better that you can protect yourself and family than the grim alternative.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Jury Duty, Reasonable Doubt and Judicial Tyranny

Most Americans believe they understand Reasonable Doubt when it comes to Jury Duty. I will begin challenging that notion by simply asking you to define it.

Let me say that lawyers and judges can’t really define it and rely on the writings of others to explain the concept.

Let me also begin by saying in a criminal case, pertinent facts like the backgrounds or history of deception of government witnesses is often hidden from a jury. This is especially true where special Victim’s Rights laws were enacted at the behest of over-zealous prosecutors.

Too many judges, rule in prejudicial evidence or rule out exculpatory evidence with ease. Juries too often never get to learn about important facts. Any judge can simply put their thumb on the scale of justice with certain rulings. They get away with this because it’s considered judicial discretion. The vast majority of those rulings are made away from the inquiring minds of the jury.

Far too often this is Judicial Tyranny. Judges are supposed to be impartial basing their rulings on the law. Instead they are swayed by allegiances to political opinion, personal gain or pleasing those who have appointed them. Judges are no less human than anyone else.

So you’re on jury duty, what do you do now? You don’t want to be soft on crime and in your heart you want to be fair. But are you really? Will you actually acquit the defendants on Reasonable Doubt?

In Nazi Germany they had public trials, actually they were filmed show trials you’d see when you went to your local movie theater along with whatever film you came to see. It was very much like Court TV.

They did not have juries but instead used a three-judge panel. They were learned and respected lawyers that everyone assumed would be fair.

Every defendant had a lawyer at his side. Witnesses were brought who gave testimony and it all seemed on the square. The problem was the public was fooled and the courts became prolific murderers.

Our founding fathers dealt with this wisely and gave us a system of justice and our Bill of Rights. However the last four decades has sent us down the slippery slope to a police state and Judicial Tyranny. Just as in Nazi Germany 1933-45 the general population is failing to notice the rapid changes.

Thankfully we still have juries but they are so poorly informed. First of all Reasonable Doubt is the standard. That means conviction based on theory, mere probabilities and your gut feelings are out. Jurors take an oath but those deep-seated feelings push that oath aside.

The O.J. Simpson murder trial verdict stands out in millions of minds as a horrible mistake. Was it really? One cop, Mark Fuhrman pled guilty to perjury at this trial and evidence handling was as sloppy as it can get. Most importantly nobody could place Simpson at the crime scene or witnessed the killing.

Reasonable Doubt and a lack of evidence should be celebrated and every verdict should error on the side of acquittal, not conviction.

This is not about being soft on crime but being hard on the government and their agents that brought the case to you.

Yes, you may let some guilty bum go but that’s better than destroying an innocent’s life.

If you cannot protect the rights and liberty of some stranger who the Hell will protect yours or someone you love’s when they are falsely accused of a crime.

Let me ask you all to begin celebrating the Reasonable Doubt whenever it exists. You must also remember, if you think any law is unfair or wrong you have the right to vote Not Guilty.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Chicago Police, Arrest Incentives and Another Scandal


Chicago, IL—Chicago politician's demands for their favorite enforcement leads to impropriety. An example is arresting people that dare place their own safety above unconstitutional gun prohibitions.

Generally most genuine criminals carry all manner of weapons. Passing and publishing prohibitions of any kind never deters criminals. Police arrest people for possessing or selling drugs and find their guns. Various calls related to assaults, threats and other senseless crimes often also lead to gun arrests.

Police can’t and don’t run around randomly searching people looking for guns. Law-abiding citizens can carry guns for decades without detection or arrest simply because they never give police probable cause to stop and search them.

The Chicago Police Department’s commanders must show numbers to these politicians so they give the cops awards and perks for hauling in the guns. In my day the tactical teams of plain clothed officers assigned to districts would win eight hours compensatory time-due for every gun arrest along with a big pat on the back.

What happens in the Circuit Court of Cook County was a game of sorts. Prosecutors always have an attractive plea deal that allow for the gun to be confiscated and destroyed with the defendant getting a slap on the wrist at best. That is unless of course he was already a convicted felon, then the stakes are only a little higher.

Felons with guns never get the ten-years in prison they could get under federal law. They’d nearly always get much softer sentences rarely exceeding a year behind bars provided they plead guilty.

The reality is that actual trials on gun possession charges are incredibly rare. The need for an officer making the arrest to actually testify under oath is nearly non-existent.

Like nearly all cops I had a part-time job to bring in more money. I handled security for the old and now gone Continental Trailways Bus Company in Chicago’s Loop. Bus and train stations attract all manner of creeps and thugs. Many of them are armed and I would arrest one or two of these misfits per week that were carrying guns. If I signed the complaints I’d get no personal benefit whatsoever. I never had to sign a single complaint.

The 001 District tactical team, needed gun arrests to satisfy that old dinosaur commander, Paul V. McLaughlin. McLaughlin showered his boys with lots of praise and perks for bragging rights to lots of gun arrests in his district.

I’d make the stop and seizure and put a call into the communication center zone asking for a 001 tactical team to meet me at the baggage department. Next the district teams would race each other “code one” to Trailways knowing whoever got their first would win the prize.

The prisoner and the evidence were always taken off my hands with a big smile. I did not have to write a report, sign a complaint,inventory or impound the evidence.

I never wrote or even read the reports made by the tactical teams, attended court trials or hearings. The reports I correctly assumed told a tale of an some kind of on view arrest by a team member rather than me. The hapless defendant did not have a clue what was going on as his lawyer worked out an attractive plea deal with prosecutors. Those gun cases would always have a seemingly satisfactory conclusion.

Unfortunately the same zealousness for gun arrests has snared many good men and women simply trying to protect themselves and family members from urban violence. It happens at a traffic stop where the cop will simply ask, “Do you have any weapons on your person or in this car?” An honest answer here leads to an arrest and a criminal conviction stain that will affect jobs, professional licenses and reputations for life.

Apparently now a certain Chicago police district tactical team is facing disgrace, firing and criminal prosecution for the same type of program. A program designed to satisfy politicians that encourage and enable gun arrests at all cost.

Offering any kind of extra incentive to encourage the arrest of anyone is wrong and invites abuse.

As for possible crimes cops could be charged with include, Perjury in connection with the complaint signed under oath and Official Misconduct. There are numerous transgression of department general orders that include false reporting.

Perhaps it’s time for the courts, police, prosecutors and politicians to re-think their entire gun law and enforcement policy. For too long they have focused on the guns rather than the criminals. Violent criminals using guns in crimes in Chicago have been allowed to roam the streets despite numerous arrests and convictions. Simply grabbing guns is never a preferable solution to locking predatory criminals away from society.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Two Phoenix Cold Cases Still Beg For a Solution

Melanie Bernas (Left) Angelia Brosso (Right)

Phoenix, AZ—In 1992/1993 Melanie Bernas, 17 and Angela Brosso, 22 were savagely sliced up nearly a year apart in the same general vicinity.

In November, 1992 the Brosso girl went for a bicycle ride and never returned. Her live-in boyfriend reported her missing to police.

Brosso was soon found headless and her torso cut in half in a nearby park at 25th Avenue and Cactus. I saw raw video of the body captured by a TV news photographer and it was indeed hideous. That video was heavily edited before it hit the airwaves.

Brosso’s severed head was subsequently located in or next to a canal some two miles away. Brosso’s bicycle has never been recovered and no viable suspect has ever been located.

Nearly one year later in September of 1993 the Bernas girl’s severed head was found near the Arizona canal and the Black Canyon freeway. Nearby floating in the canal the rest of her cut up remains were recovered. Like the Brosso girl, Bernas was believed to be riding a bicycle that’s never been located.

Police believe that both young women were murdered by the same person. Police have a DNA material believed left by the killer but they’ve not found a suspect for a match yet.

These two crimes have left an impression on me for nearly 20 years. There is no statute of limitations for murder and this killer needs to be punished.

I can’t believe that this savage predator has not killed more young women. This killer is right out of a horror movie. We can only hope these two murders can be solved.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Ghetto Rats Murder Yet Another Chicago Cop This Morning


Chicago, IL—This time it was an off duty cop who was simply cleaning the windshield on his brand new Buick automobile in front of his own house. The officer had just arrived home after his shift protecting Richard M. Daley’s residence.

Details are scarce right now but it appears there were multiple assailants and apparently lots of shots fired at the scene. The officer was still in full uniform when he was murdered.

This senseless attack happened shortly after 6:00 AM near the intersection of 74th Street and Evans Avenue. Police are still processing the crime scene and trying to determine the motivation and identification of the killers.

This was a career Chicago cop facing mandatory retirement August 14th on his 63rd birthday.

Chicago’s African-American community is in a non-stop, mid-summer orgy of violence. The underpaid, undermanned, out-gunned and demoralized police department is totally incapable of keeping a lid on the ghetto carnage.

Chicago’s corrupt politicians have wasted millions on questionable projects that were never wanted or needed while they allowed the department to degenerate into the mess that it is today.

Mayor Daley will certainly scream about guns again, when he knows full well it was his own corruption and mismanagement that facilitated this deadly anarchy. The Daley/Burke cancer on Chicago must be taken out for good and the streets returned to the law-abiding folks.

The law-abiding citizens of Chicago need to get firearms, training and courage to stop the armed monsters in their tracks. Police alone will never be able to reclaim Chicago.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Rod Blagojevich will Bring About A Political Bloodbath

Chicago, IL—Today veteran criminal lawyer Ed Genson had a sit down with a client who could unleash the Gates of Hell. Genson has been practicing criminal law for more than 40 years in Cook County. Genson knows the ropes and will do his best work for Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich provided that he ponies up a huge retainer.

I know Genson and have been examined and cross-examined by him in several criminal cases while I was a cop. Everyone always underestimated his ability. He and his long time partner Sam Adam are gifted litigators from Hell.

Patrick Fitzgerald, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois can potentially make orphans out of Blagojevich’s children. Fitzgerald has the goods on the Illinois First Lady too. With both parents in prison the family damage is mindboggling.

Blagojevich and his wife have no choice but to implicate everyone they can. There is no question that Blagojevich has the goods on every major Democratic Party politician in Chicago including President-elect Barack Obama. You can’t hold any major position in the party without selling your soul to the devil.

Being slated for major office is being a, Made Man by mob standards.

Chicago’s organized crime begins and ends with the Democratic Party power brokers. Fitzgerald is in danger over this prosecution and is a likely murder target.

Blagojevich himself is in mortal danger because of the power he now holds to destroy the lives of other crooked politicians. Blagojevich will be better protected if he sings than if the criminal cabal has to speculate he might. The Illinois State police bodyguards will vanish as soon as Blagojevich is out of office.

Let’s argue and say Blagojevich can’t bring down the President-elect someone else he snitches on will. The rats are already biting each other and this cancer will spread faster and deadlier than any we’ve seen before.

Friday, December 05, 2008

Disabling Traffic Enforcement Cameras Can Happen!

Dallas, TX—A clever lawyer has shut down camera traffic enforcement in Texas. This valid legal angle can also be used against the companies that provide this service to governments in California, Illinois and Arizona.

The companies are unlawfully operating without required private investigation licenses in these states where they are required, The companies gather evidence to use in legal proceedings for compensation. That precisely why I’m required to have such a license for the work I do in those states.

Operating without a license is a criminal offense!

They can be forced under law to refund all monies collected unlawfully. I hope to see lawyers take up this and remove this tool that extorts money from citizens.

Here is a news report from by my old friend Carol Cavazos at CBS 11 News in Dallas.